NFL Draft Buzz: Why Joel Klatt is High on Sonny Styles and Omar Cooper

As the college football world descends upon Columbus for the start of Ohio State’s spring practice on March 10, the conversation has quickly shifted from the practice field to the professional ranks. With the 2026 NFL Draft looming, analysts are scouring tape to find the "blue-chip" prospects capable of changing a franchise's trajectory. Among those garnering the most significant buzz are Ohio State’s Sonny Styles and Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr., two players who defined the 2025 season for their respective programs. Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt recently weighed in, signaling that both athletes are skyrocketing up draft boards following their standout performances at the NFL Scouting Combine.

For the Ohio State Buckeyes, Styles has been a revelation. Originally recruited as a top-tier safety, Styles made the transition to linebacker in 2024 and never looked back. By the 2025 season, he had fully matured into his 6-foot-4, 235-pound frame, becoming the tactical heart of Jim Knowles’ defensive unit. Styles finished his senior campaign with a team-high 82 total tackles, including 46 solo stops and 6.5 tackles for loss. His ability to drop into coverage—a vestige of his safety days—and his closing speed when attacking the run made him a consensus First-Team All-American. Klatt notes that Styles represents the prototype for the modern NFL linebacker, a player versatile enough to handle elite tight ends in space while maintaining the physicality to stymie power-run schemes.

While Ohio State remains a perennial powerhouse, the defining story of the 2025 season was the meteoric rise of the Indiana Hoosiers. Under the leadership of Curt Cignetti, Indiana completed an unprecedented 16-0 season, culminating in a 34-23 victory over Miami (FL) to secure the program's first-ever National Championship. At the center of that offensive explosion was wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. Cooper was more than just a deep threat; he was the primary catalyst for an Indiana offense that averaged over 40 points per game. He finished the 2025 season with 69 receptions for 937 yards and 13 touchdowns, providing Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza with a reliable target in high-pressure situations.

Klatt has particularly highlighted Cooper's "pro-ready" route running and his uncanny ability to win contested catches, traits that were on full display during Indiana's title run. His most iconic moment came in a late-season thriller against Penn State, where a spectacular toe-tap catch in the back of the end zone secured a 27-24 victory and kept the Hoosiers' undefeated season alive. According to Klatt, Cooper’s rise from a locally touted recruit to a potential first-round pick mirrors the ascent of the Indiana program itself. Scouts are reportedly enamored with his "clutch" factor, noting that he consistently delivered his best performances against top-tier competition.

As spring ball begins today in Columbus, the Buckeyes are already feeling the void left by Styles’ departure. Ryan Day and his staff are tasked with replacing eight starters from a defense that led the nation for much of 2025. In Bloomington, the challenge is similar; while the Hoosiers celebrate their status as defending champions, they must now figure out how to replace the massive production of a player like Cooper. For both programs, the 2026 season represents a new chapter, but the legacies of Sonny Styles and Omar Cooper Jr. are firmly etched in the history of the Big Ten. As the draft approaches, both players are being projected as high-priority targets, with Styles potentially crashing the top 15 and Cooper emerging as a top-three receiver in a deep class.

Ultimately, the reasoning behind the hype is simple: production in big moments. Whether it was Styles’ 12-tackle performance in the Big Ten Championship or Cooper’s record-setting 207-yard game against Indiana State, both athletes proved they belong on the biggest stage. With NFL training camps on the horizon, the focus now turns to which professional team will be lucky enough to secure these two Big Ten titans.